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Brian Loring began his obsession with Pinot Noir while in college. As a winemaker, his philosophy is that the fruit is everything. He believes that what happens in the vineyard determines the quality of the wine.

Loring Wine Company was founded by Brian Loring and his sister, Kimberly.

History

Date Founded: 1999

Owner: Brian Loring, and his sister, Kimberly Loring

Winery Philosophy: The fruit is everything. What happens in the vineyard determines the quality of the wine.

As a college student, Brian Loring worked in a wine shop in Hollywood, CA. This was where his obsession for Pinot Noir was born. His first experiences with Pinot Noir were from producers like Domaine Dujac, Henri Jayer, and Domaine de la Romanée Conti (DRC) – top growers in the Côte d’Or.

Brian became very excited about California Pinot Noir when he met Norm Beko from Cottonwood Canyon. In 1997, Norm offered to let Brian come learn the wine making process. After checking sugar levels, picking grapes, crushing, punching down, pressing, and filling barrels, he was totally hooked. He ended up making two barrels of Pinot Noir; thus began the Loring Wine Company.

Brian Loring's philosophy is that the fruit is everything; what happens in the vineyard determines the quality of the wine. Great grapes picked at the right time equals good wine. When choosing vineyards to buy grapes from, he not only looks for the right soil, micro-climate, and clones, but also a grower with the same dedication to producing great wine.

The vineyards:

Cargasacchi Vineyard - located at the far western edge of the Sta. Rita Hills appellation; soil type is the Botella series, a composition of both clay and loam that has a fairly high calcareous content, which drains well and helps moderate yields; 12 acres are all planted to clone 115 Pinot noir on two different rootstocks - 3309C (low to moderate vigor) and 420A (low vigor).

Clos Pepe Vineyard - located in the Santa Rita Hills area of Santa Barbara County; area where clone 667 comes from is "steep and chunky"; clone 115 from the lower portion of the vineyard.

Durell Vineyard - located in the hills overlooking the town of Sonoma; a 135 acre vineyard, of which Loring Wine Company gets 2 acres; vineyards extend from the southern end of the Sonoma Valley into the western portion of the cool Carneros region; afternoon breezes that slow ripening, producing richer-flavored grapes.

Gary's Vineyard - joint effort between Gary Franscioni and Gary Pisoni; located in Monterey County, near Soledad, CA; 50 acres, of which Loring Wine Company gets 3acres; the clone planted is the Pisoni clone.

Graham Family Vineyard - lies in a small sub-appellation of the Russian River Valley AVA called Green Valley, which is less than 10 miles from the Pacific Ocean; 14 acres, of which Loring Wine Company gets 2 acres; planted in 2002, it features Pinot noir clones 667, 777, 828, Swan, and Calera.

Keefer Ranch Vineyard - Keefer Ranch is farmed by Marcy Keefer and her son Craig Strehlow. The clones are a nice mixture of Dijon 114, 115, 777, Pommard 5, Mariafeld (23), Wädenswil (2A), Swan and Calera. The vineyard is located in the Russian River Valley's Green Valley appellation; sits near the headwaters of Green Valley Creek and is planted on gentle, well-drained slopes with Goldridge soil; grows 40 acres of Pinot noir and 10 acres of Chardonnay grapes.

Rancho La Vina Vineyard - family owned and operated ranch located on the central coast of California in the Sta. Rita Hills AVA; 2,800 acre property is what remains of the Santa Rosa Land Grant which was purchased in the 1860's; 100 acres of Pinot noir planted in 2001; site features Gazos (moderately deep to bedrock, well drained soils that formed in material weathered from sandstone and shale) clay-loam, Ballard fine sandy-loam, and Sta. Lucia shaly clay-loam soils.

Rosella's Vineyard - owned by Gary Franscioni; located in Monterey County, near Soledad, CA; one acre each of 667, 777, 828, and Pisoni clones.

Sierra Mar Vineyard - Gary Franscioni's new vineyard in Santa Lucia Highlands; south of Gary's vineyard and way up on the hillside.

Deliciously rich and creamy. Full-bodied, with layers of apricot, peach and hazelnut flavors that are deep and persistent, ending with a touch of butterscotch. The wine equivalent of liquefied crème brûlée.

Durell Vineyard (85 acres, of which LWC has 2 acres) is located in the Petaluma Gap region of the Sonoma Coast AVA. The area is actually quite warm, and as such, the fruit doesn't retain much acidity. The lower acid profile leads to the rounder, softer, slightly oily mouth feel that Durell Vineyard Chardonnays are known for.